Alteration of glass as a possible source of clay minerals on Mars

Details Alteration of glass as a possible source of clay minerals on Mars Alteration of glass as a possible source of clay minerals on Mars

Aug 1978

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1978georl...5..727g&link_type=abstract

Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 5, Aug. 1978, p. 727-730.

Physics

19

Chemical Effects, Clays, Glass, Mars Surface, Planetary Composition, Weathering, Decomposition, Feldspars, Fines

Scientific paper

Thermodynamic calculations show that, under present Martian surface conditions, favorable gas-solid weathering products of feldspar glasses should include beidellites (clays of the montmorillonite series) + carbonates + quartz. The gas-solid weathering of mafic silicate glass ( of volcanic or impact origin) may similarly favor the production of metastable Fe-rich montmorillonite clays. Simple mass-balance calculations suggest that gas-solid weathering of Martian proto-regolith containing 10% glass could conceivably produce a global blanket of clays at a rate of at least 0.4 cm/b.y. The production rate should be expected to increase significantly with the glass content and rate of reworking of the proto-regolith and with the availability of water. Complete extraction of altered glass from a lunar-like proto-regolith might yield a global Martian clay blanket about 10-100 cm in thickness.

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